Changes to Community Chest Criteria

The Government ended the Neighbourhood Renewal Funding (NRF) programme on 31 March 2008 and replaced it with a new three year programme known as the Working Neighbourhoods Fund (WNF).  This change has resulted in the Community Chest administered by HVDA having to refocus its approach in that it now has a target that 70% of the Community Chest monies should be spent on the enterprise agenda.  This includes tackling worklessness, building skills and capacity building.  This will make funding for other activities more difficult to access.  However as previously mentioned a new Health Chest will be launched in the summer and Government is to introduce a new programme called ‘Grassroots Grants’ which will most likely be administered by Tees Valley Community Foundation in co-operation with HVDA.